Faith & Leadership Blog: Quiz: Pet ministries and the spiritual growth of congregations
Religious institutions responding to Americans’ love affair with their pets are adding new ministries, drawing new people to church and advocating greater care for all living creatures. Take our quiz to test your knowledge of the relationship between believers and their nonhuman loved ones.
The tears came easily for the burly truck driver in his 40s at the animal memorial service at Christ United Methodist Church in suburban Pittsburgh.
For nearly two decades, his black-and-white cat slept with him and his wife at night, greeted him every morning and was there each time he came into the house. The cat, he said, was like one of his kids — one he didn’t have to send to college.
The memorial service gave him a chance to recognize his loss and say goodbye. “I really needed this,” he told a church volunteer afterward. “I think this was what Christ would have done.”
The monthly animal memorial service, part of the church’s Hearts and Paws program, is representative of a growing number of pet ministries throughout the country. In a nation where commercials refer to dog and cat owners as “pet parents,” and not even a recession can slow spending on animals, religious institutions are responding in multiple ways.
The Hearts and Paws website states its mission theologically, explaining that “God has given us dominion over the animals of the earth, meaning that He has challenged us to take care of them. God also expects us to be in love and charity with our neighbors, meeting the needs of others whenever and wherever possible.” …
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